Social ecommerce unicorn Meesho becomes latest Indian startup to enforce mass layoffs

Social ecommerce unicorn Meesho recently announced it is letting go of 150 employees from its grocery arm. Further, as early as May, it is planning to integrate its grocery business under the Meesho Superstore brand.

This is the latest in a series of lay off announcements from some of India's top startups in 2022, after the much-criticised decision by Lido Learning to let go of nearly 1,200 employees in late February.

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However, unlike the other announcements, Meesho does not seem to be firing people due to a financial crisis but as a move to reduce redundancies as it further integrates its grocery business.

“As we look to boost efficiencies in the light of the integration, a small number of full-time roles and certain third-party positions on six-month contracts at Meesho Superstore were reassessed to remove redundancies with the core business,” said a company blog post.

Additionally, Meesho said that those employees that have been let go will receive severance packages and support in finding a new job. These layoffs will not impact Meesho's core businesses in any way, the unicorn noted.

“To support those impacted by this restructuring, Meesho is offering severance packages and outplacement assistance to help them secure new opportunities outside the company. The redundancies do not impact any positions at the core Meesho marketplace business, where we continue to hire and grow talent,” added the blog post.

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Over the last two months, over 2,000 employees were let go from positions at well-known startups, including Lido Learning, Trell, Furlenco, Unacademy, and OkCredit.